# Fragrances: sprays vs. rollerballs?



## ifeeesh (Oct 13, 2013)

I'm currently using the Fresh Sugar Lemon perfume spray, and I'm in love with the smell!! Only problem is, I don't think it's very long lasting... I suspect it wears off within half a day. Anyone know if rollerballs are longer lasting? Should I switch?


----------



## zadidoll (Oct 13, 2013)

Depends on the ingredients. Now, first let me make the disclaimer that I don't wear a good many fragrances for a variety of reasons so I'm by all means not an authority of perfumes. That said, from my understanding oil based perfumes last longer than perfumes made with some type of alcohol. So if perfumes are not lasting long on you then you might want to check to see what the ingredients include.


----------



## meaganola (Oct 13, 2013)

Some rollerballs are eau de parfums, some are eau de toilettes, some are perfume oils, and I've been seeing some with other bases (glycerin? I don't have one handy to check this right now). If you're using a spray eau de parfum and switch to the same thing in a rollerball, it might seem to not last as long because your clothes might be catching the spray and making it seem to last longer. (I almost exclusively wear perfume oils applied with rollerballs, so I would have more to say in this, but I have been enjoying mimosas this afternoon and am on my phone, so I'll have to expand later if I remember and no one beats me to it.)


----------



## ifeeesh (Oct 14, 2013)

Quote: Originally Posted by *meaganola* /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Some rollerballs are eau de parfums, some are eau de toilettes, some are perfume oils, and I've been seeing some with other bases (glycerin? I don't have one handy to check this right now). If you're using a spray eau de parfum and switch to the same thing in a rollerball, it might seem to not last as long because your clothes might be catching the spray and making it seem to last longer.

(I almost exclusively wear perfume oils applied with rollerballs, so I would have more to say in this, but I have been enjoying mimosas this afternoon and am on my phone, so I'll have to expand later if I remember and no one beats me to it.)
wait so are the rollerballs better? or only if it's a perfume oil inside?


----------



## meaganola (Oct 14, 2013)

Quote: Originally Posted by *ifeeesh* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  wait so are the rollerballs better? or only if it's a perfume oil inside?
I don't think you can say that one or the other is better as a blanket statement.  I prefer perfume oil rollerballs.  My mom preferred eau de toilette sprays.  There are a lot of people who like perfume oils but prefer to apply the oil from bottles with wand caps instead of rollerballs.  It's just a matter of what you like and feel comfortable with.

But I just went back and noticed what specific fragrance you're talking about here and checked out the notes list.  Citrus notes in general are known for not being long-lasting, and Fresh Sugar Lemon in particular is a very light scent as far as the notes go.  It's chock full of citrus.  It's just not going to last all day no matter what.  You might want to try spraying your clothing in order to extend the life of the scent, but most of the notes in this one don't last on me for more than a few hours whether it's an oil or an eau de whatever.  This one just screams "reapply often!" at me.


----------



## Deareux (Oct 14, 2013)

I'm a perfumer, so hopefully I can help answer your question.

Typically, all-natural perfumes don't last as long as their synthetic counterparts. Synthetic fragrances are made to last while natural aromatic oils retain the most accurate scent but they are not naturally made to last. And alcohol based perfumes, generally speaking, don't last as long as oils because of the evaporation rate of alcohol. But with added synthetics, it is possible for alcohols to outlast oils, especially against natural perfumes. Also with natural perfumes, the balancing between notes is much more crucial. A perfume made out of top notes won't last long because top notes are generally defined as the notes you first smell, but they also evaporate faster than middle or base notes. 

In perfumery, fragrance strengths are given names depending on the percentage of aromatic ingredients (like synthetic or natural jasmine) to carrier ingredients (like perfumer's alcohol or oil). The higher the percentage, the stronger and longer lasting the fragrance is. The general list of perfume strengths are as follows, from weakest to strongest.


Eau Fraiche - similar to a body splash.
Eau de Cologne - around 3-5 percent fragrance in carrier
Eau de Toilette - around 5-10% fragrance in carrier
Eau de Parfum - around 10-20% fragrance in carrier
Parfum aka Extrait - Around 25-30% fragrance in carrier

As you may think, the higher the fragrance percentage is, the more expensive the perfumes are.

With regard to roller balls or sprays, I personally like the roller ball because I can control where I want the perfume to be. If you want to make the best out of your fragrance, apply perfume on the warm parts of your body like your inner elbows, decolette, behind the knee, on the wrists, etc. Heat helps spread the scent like lighting a scented candle. Behind the knee is not often noted, but it is an excellent place to use perfume. It is an area that is often warm, and because fragrance rises as it evaporates, the scent rises to the rest of your body as it evaporates.

But with regard to packaging and making perfumes last, a spray or a ball does not affect the lasting ability of the fragrance. The percentage as well as the natural to synthetic factors are the biggest players in making a scent last.

Admittedly, I make my fragrances around the Eau de Parfum strength, but they do not last nearly as long as others simply because I choose to be 100% natural to present the most accurate scents. This is an example of how both key elements should be considered to pick out a fragrance based on lasting power. Although my fragrances are classified as an EDP, they do not last as long as, say, a Dior perfume that is also classified as an EDP.


----------



## mashan (Mar 19, 2014)

My experience with rollerballs is that they do NOT last longer. As a matter of fact spray perfumes are optimized for wear and generally distribute the fragrance more evenly - thus letting it interact with your skin better and produce a more lasting effect.

When it comes to most contemporary perfumes, getting half a day of wear (4-5 hrs) is about the extent you can get. The best option is to reapply during the day. If you want something that lasts longer, I suggest layering (apply non-scented lotion to the area of the skin you are spraying perfume onto) or using more expensive niche perfumes that generally have more natural ingredients and stay on longer.


----------

